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Roger Milla, the pride of the Indomitable Lions

Roger MILLA

Old age is when you begin to say, I've never felt so young.
The words of French writer Jules Renard could have been composed
especially for Roger Milla, the Cameroon striker and African
football icon, who exploded on to the international scene at the
ripe old age of 38. A veteran blessed with enduring bursts of pace
and an unerring eye for goal, Milla took Cameroon into uncharted
territory for an African team as they reached the quarter-finals of
the 1990 FIFA World Cup™ in Italy. Incredibly, he also played four
years later in the United States.

His father's job on the railways meant that the young Milla
and his family were forever on the move but throughout those
itinerant early years, football was a constant. Milla emerged from
the barefoot games of his boyhood with a nickname, Pele. His
excellent technique and scoring touch were already evident and by
the time he was 18, he was playing first-team football at one of
Cameroon's leading clubs, Leopard de Douala. After winning the
league championship there in 1972, Milla moved on to Tonnerre Club
de Yaounde the next year and further success followed.

In 1976 Milla's career on the international stage got off to
an auspicious start as he helped Tonnerre capture the CAF African
Cup Winners' Cup and collected the African Golden Ball for the
continent's best player. He thought his ship had come in 12
months later when French club Valenciennes lured him across the
Mediterranean to Europe. Milla struggled to make his mark at Les Athéniens, however, and he fared little better after heading
south to AS Monaco, spending half his time on the bench and the
other half injured. A spell at Bastia did little to enhance his
reputation either, his impromptu trips to Cameroon antagonising the
coaching staff. "People judged me on what they heard and read
about me in the media," he explained later. "The big
clubs didn't have faith in me."

Saint-Etienne, newly relegated to the second division, proved
his salvation when they signed the now 32-year-old in 1984. There
he rediscovered the path to goal, scoring 22 times in 31
appearances over two fruitful seasons. He flourished even further
after moving to Montpellier, a club where he felt at home, and
where his dribbling and scoring ability came to the fore. By the
time he called time on his professional career in France, in May
1989, he had 152 goals to his name.

Remarkably, Milla's best was yet to come. He had already
achieved plenty with Cameroon, making history as part of the team
that qualified for the FIFA Word Cup in Spain 1982. It was the
Indomitable Lions' first appearance on the world stage and
despite a first-round exit they more than held their own, returning
home unbeaten. After winning the CAF African Cup of Nations for a
second time in 1988, Milla announced his retirement from the
international stage and after memorable testimonials in Douala and
Yaounde, attended by almost 100,000 spectators, he moved to Reunion
Island in the Indian Ocean to live out what he thought would be a
peaceful semi-retirement.

Playing in the FIFA World Cup seemed nothing but a distant
memory - until, that is, with the Italy 1990 finals looming and with
the national squad riven by conflict, the Cameroonian press began
bidding for his return. The clamour grew until Milla received a
phone call from the President of Cameroon himself, Paul Biya,
pleading with him to come out of retirement and answer his
country's call. How could he refuse?

So it was that at the age of 38, Roger Milla enjoyed his finest
hour as a footballer. He lit up Italy 1990 with his bursts of pace,
his jinking runs, his clever passes and, of course, that
hip-wiggling Makossa dance around the corner flag with which he
celebrated each of his four goals. A late substitute in
Cameroon's stunning 1-0 victory over holders Argentina in the
tournament's opening game, it was in their second group fixture
against Romania that he wrote his name into the FIFA World Cup
record books. Coming off the bench after 58 minutes, he became the
oldest goalscorer in the tournament's history when breaking
clear of the Romanian defence to fire Cameroon in front with 13
minutes remaining. Ten minutes later he struck again.

That victory assured Cameroon a place in the second round where
Milla proved the hero again, his two goals in extra time against
Colombia sending the Indomitable Lions to the quarter-finals, the
furthest an African nation had reached. The first was sublime, the
old man carrying the ball past Luis Carlos Perea and Andres Escobar before driving it
beyond Higuita with his left foot. The second a gift from the
goalkeeper, whose attempt to dribble round Milla ended up with the
Cameroonian finishing into an empty net. "He wanted to dribble
past me. You don't dribble past Milla," said the hero of
the hour.

Even in the subsequent 3-2 quarter-final loss to England, Milla
shone, winning the penalty from which Emmanuel Kunde struck their
first goal, then putting Eugene Ekeke through for their second.
Milla, who had always craved recognition as a footballer, could be
proud: not only would he be crowned African Footballer of the Year
but the performances of his team, along with Egypt at Italy 1990,
led to the announcement that there would be a third African team at
future FIFA World Cups.

Four years later, and incredibly Milla was back for USA 94.
Although Cameroon were eliminated at the group stage, he still
managed to grab a goal against Russia, thereby setting a new record
as the oldest scorer at a FIFA World Cup, at the age of 42. It is
not his only record; he is also the first African to have played in
three finals tournaments.

A man of great generosity and humanity, he now devotes his time
to African causes. An itinerant ambassador for Cameroon and UNAIDS,
he is tireless in his globe-trotting work, but don't ever ask
him how many goals or caps he has. "I don't know. It never
interested me. Football was all that mattered." The quote sums
up the man.